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History

The building and the collection both are considered Flemish heritage. The story of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library started in 1481, with 41 books. Today it is one of the most important heritage libraries in Flanders.

Practical information

Do you intend to visit our library to consult a publication or visit our stunning Nottebohm Room? Below you can find all the practical information you need, from the opening hours to information for wheelchair users and accessibility.

Dutch literature

From literary debut to collected edition: the works of Flemish and Dutch authors past and present are brought together here.

Guided tour behind the scenes

For groups

Take a look behind the scenes of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library with your group or association and learn more about our fascinating history and comprehensive collection.

Reading Room

Our library has a large collection of early printed books, long-forgotten periodicals and extensive reference works. While we do not loan these works, you can take a closer look at them in our Reading Room.

In search of Paradise

Dr. Claire Eager (The College of Wooster, Ohio) visited the Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience in the summer of 2019. Her research concentrates on the works of the English poet Edmund Spenser (c.1552-1599), who wrote The Faerie Queene, and the similarities with the work of the Flemish poet Jan van der Noot (c.1539-c.1595). We interviewed her about her research.

The Esperanto collection of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library

In 2016, the Hendrik Conscience Library acquired a large part of the library of the Flandra Esperanto-Ligo or Flemish Esperanto League. We’re talking to Esperantist Cyreen Knockaert, who has been cataloguing this collection for us as a volunteer.

Newsroom

The Heritage Library is the repository for modern and historical newspapers and periodicals – on paper, on microfilm or in digital form.

"Antwerp is a colonial city"

Historian Bas De Roo has been scouring our collection for books on Belgium’s colonial past for his dissertation on the flow of taxes and customs duties in Congo Free State. After his dissertation, De Roo worked at the University of Leipzig, where he researched the role of the Congolese elite in the governance of the Free State and Belgian Congo. Today, De Roo is a researcher at Geheugen Collectief, which offers historical research in an accessible way to a broad public in the form of exhibitions, historical walks, apps, publications ...